1. Field of the Invention
The present invention broadly relates to the provision of a multiconductor flat cable and, more particularly, is concerned with the incorporation of an angular turn, preferably of approximately ninety degrees, in the multiple conductor runs of the cable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of configurations of multiconductor flat cable and techniques for manufacturing the same are known in the prior art. The patents to Crimmins et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,844; and Cahill, U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,558, respectively disclose continuous and noncontinuous operations for making multiconductor flat cable.
Crimmins et al assemble a plurality of conductors between two sheets of insulation material, in a continuous operation, by using a plurality of tubes to guide the plurality of conductors into desired side-by-side spacings. Then, the conductors and sheets of insulation positioned at upper and lower sides of the spaced conductors are together fed into the nip of upper and lower heated rollers for bonding the sheets together.
Cahill assembles a flat wiring harness, in a noncontinuous operation, by placing a lower insulation sheet in a positioning jig located on a platen, individually feeding wires of desired length one at a time and into a desired pattern on the lower sheet, then adding an upper insulation sheet to the platen on top of the wires and compressing it into the place on the lower sheet. The wires are individually applied in the desired pattern by moving the platen, which mounts the lower sheet, along orthogonal X and Y axes in accordance with a predetermined program as the individual wire is fed onto the lower sheet.
While these two cable manufacturing or assembling operations are undoubtedly satisfactory for providing the cable configuration requirement desired in each case, a need exists for a less complicated, simpler way of assembling a flat cable so that an angular turn, such as of approximately ninety degrees, may be incorporated in the multiple conductor runs thereof.